Travelers
by becuzitswrong
Summary: Harry knew he had leave the Wizarding world because of the Hallows. He just never expected to have company on his journey. Or to encounter a world stranger than the one he'd left, peopled with armored men, gods, secret agents, and villains. Oh, to be back in England again.
1. Chapter One—Arrivals

**Travelers**

**by becuzitswrong**

**Summary:** Harry knew he had leave the Wizarding world because of the Hallows. He just never expected to have company on his journey. Or to encounter a stranger world than the one he'd left peopled with armored men, gods, secret agents, and villains. Oh to be back in England again.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Harry Potter or the Avengers. I only want to play a bit and will give them back untarnished.

**AN:** This will be a Harry Potter and the Avengers story. Eventually. Give me some time to develop things, however, I think you will like what happens.

**Chapter One—Arrivals**

Harry and Hermione stepped out onto a winter street, stumbling a bit in the dark, snow blowing around them. Both turned to watch the glowing portal behind them close. With it gone, ended their only way home. Hermione turned towards him with a look of trepidation on her face.

Harry quickly reassured her. "See? No problem at all. We're here all in one piece. Our bags did not lose their expansion charms and bury us in gold bricks and books. Especially books. And I still feel magical."

Hermione gave him a doubtful look, so Harry pulled out his wand. "Lumos."

Both watched the tip of Harry's wand light up. With a flourish, Harry canceled the spell. "Nox."

"Harry, I still don't know about those 8th degree rune clusters we used-"

"You used. I was along for the ride.

Hermione huffed. "Fine. _I_ used to get us here." Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. "You know you could cast something more useful like a Warming Charm." Harry gave her a hopeful look. "Fine. I'll cast it." With a quick flourish of her wand, Hermione cast and Harry immediately felt a warm toastiness reducing the effects of the cutting wind. "Now about that runic cluster..." Harry was distracted as Hermione chewed her lower lip. Finally her face cleared. "Oh well, all's well and all of that rubbish."

Hermione squeaked as Harry pulled her into an embrace, giving her a hungry kiss. "Harry! What was that for?"

Harry kept him arms around her. In an aggrieved tone, he accused, "You did that thing with your lip. You know I can't control myself when you do that."

Hermione's face wore a look of innocence. "What thing? This?" With that, she lightly chewed her lower lip, mesmerizing Harry.

He didn't even realize he was leaning in for another kiss, when he encountered Hermione's raised hand rather than her soft lips. Harry murmured against her palm, "Not fair."

Hermione broke free from his arms with a laugh. "Down boy. We need to find out where and when we are. And if there are wizards here."

Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "If there are wizards here, you would think that our little spells would have brought them running."

Hermione nodded in consideration. "Maybe. But there could be reasons. Magic might not be as tightly strictured here as back home. The spells we did might not have set off any magic detectors. The fact the spells were simple and appropriate for the circumstances since its dark and snowing, requir-"

Harry held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I give up. Lets get a newspaper and get out of this cold."

Luckily, they spotted a cluster of newspaper dispensers only a half block away, located not far from the brightly lit front of a large building. Since neither had any local money, Harry surreptitiously tapped one twice with his wand and tugged it open, removing two papers. He handed one to Hermione.

There was just enough light to read by since they'd gotten much closer to the lights of what Harry had since noted was a large hotel. He stared at the headline in amazement. "Well, that's something you don't see every day."

Beside him, Hermione wailed in horror, "I knew it! I knew that last rune cluster was wonky! We were supposed to end up in Newfoundland, not several hundred miles to the south and west. New York City, Harry! We're in New York City! This is the New York Post!"

Harry deadpanned, "And here I thought the banner headline reading 'Tony Stark: I'm Iron Man!' was the big news. Flying men in armored suits. You don't see that every day."

Hermione shivered. "We need to get out of the cold. My warming charm isn't up to this weather. Unless you want to pull out the heavy artillery?"

Harry gave a shiver of his own, although his wasn't from the cold. No, he would rather not use that particular item any time soon if he could help it. Hermione read his face and said, "Thought not. Let's head over to that nice, big, well-lit hotel just ahead and check in. Then we can talk about things in our room." At Harry's eyebrow waggle, Hermione clarified, "Our room with two beds."

An hour and half a dozen Confundus Charms later, they were well ensconced in a beautiful, warm suite of rooms in the Hotel Peninsula. Room service would soon be on the way with two English-style breakfasts. It turned out that in a hotel of this caliber, even arriving at 3:30 in the morning did not significantly reduce services available.

Harry reclined in the sofa in their 'sitting' room. "This is the life." He ignored the fact that this was his first time in an establishment as luxurious as this one. He was half afraid to touch anything in case he got it dirty or somehow broke it.

Hermione teased, "That wasn't what you were saying when you first found out that we weren't sharing a room."

Harry flipped over onto his stomach and gave her an narrow-eyed look. "I can understand you not wanting to sleep together just yet since we've only been dating less than a month. But I figured that we could at least share a room and you would..."

Hermione prompted, "You would what?"

Harry finished, "You would be the last thing I'd see every night before I closed my eyes."

Hermione blinked rapidly as she rushed over to hug him. With his prone position, she ended up lying half on him as she hugged him tightly. After a moment, she wiggled and twisted, eliciting a groan from Harry, before finally settling in with her back against the couch, facing him.

Staring into his eyes, Hermione asked, "Have I ever thanked you for rescuing me from the Weasleys?"

Harry felt himself grimace, but fought it off. "Plenty of times. But I haven't thanked you for saving me. For coming with me a second time on a crazy adventure from which there's no real return. So thank you, Hermione Granger."

They both lay there content to be in each other's arms. As Harry rested, he couldn't help thinking about how they'd gotten there...

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

It had started with a sock. A trivial thing, really, but it had driven Harry mad as he searched for its mate. For some odd reason he hadn't been able to settle on a different pair of socks. Ginny liked these. She'd mentioned it once before. So he'd searched in vain for the other for hours.

After tearing apart his room, he'd gone searching through Ron's. Since they shared a flat, it stood to reason that Ron had accidentally slipped it in with the rest of the clothes he still had his mother cleaning for him. So it was likely in his mess of a room. So Harry tore Ron's room apart.

In the end, he never found the sock. What he did find were several bottles of a familiar-looking potion hidden under a pile of jumpers at the bottom of a drawer in his dresser. Harry had almost ignored the bottles of potion, his intent so focused on his quest. Then a voice in his brain had screamed danger. And he had pulled them out, absently noting that two of them were only half full.

There had been six bottles in all, three labeled Harry and the other three labeled Hermione. He didn't cotton onto what potion it was at first. It was just odd that Ron had bottles like hidden away. Bottles labeled with names. So Harry had opened them.

The liquid within had a pearlescent sheen to it which made Harry's fogged brain work overtime. Then he smelled it. It had smelled of treacle tart, the polished wood of his broomstick handle, and Ginny Weasley. Then Harry had known. His behavior. His obsessiveness. Potions overdose. Too much in too short of a time. No wonder he felt like that sock was going to drive him mad.

Harry remembered wanting to go find Ginny and tell her what her brother had done so that they could solve the problem together. Somehow, he had resisted though it had been harder than the Imperius Curse to shake off. Instead, he dragged himself down to the Apothecary in Diagon Alley for a purgative, which he'd poured down his throat as soon as he made it to Grimauld Place .

Harry had vomited and defecated for hours under the effects as his body was purged of all potion and potion-linked effects. It had been brutal and painful, but after finishing, he had much greater clarity of mind. And a simmering rage against the Weasley family.

It couldn't have been just Ron in on it, as he couldn't brew worth spit. Even Ginny wasn't the best at the art of potions. But Molly Weasley was incredibly talented. So much so, that if she'd had any ambition beyond being a wife and mother, she could easily have been a potions master.

Were they all in on it, Harry wondered? He'd done a lot for the Weasleys in the eight months since the war had ended. He'd essentially given George nearly 10,000 galleons to expand his business. He'd paid for the Burrow to be rebuilt. He'd bought tons of things for Ginny and Ron, while letting the latter stay rent-free in the apartment they shared.

Harry had even signed a betrothal contract for Ginny's hand with Molly, although he had yet to pay the 100,000 galleon bride price for her. Now he knew he must have been drugged as it was the bride's family who should have responsible for paying him, not the other way around. It was an ugly, sickening situation.

With a sinking feeling, Harry realized it was worse because Hermione was also likely potioned. She hadn't been under the effects nearly as long as Harry as she had only gotten back a little over four months before. Hermione had traveled to Australia to find her parents. She'd done so, but had been unable to reverse the memory charm. Dan and Emma Granger hadn't known who Hermione was and had never had a child. It had hurt Hermione deeply, but in the end she'd come back here to England to be with her friends. Only to be potioned and betrayed.

The only thing keeping Harry from finding Ron and beating him to death was the fact that as of yet, there hadn't been any hanky-panky between the two. Oh they'd snogged and there had been some heavy petting, but Harry had been on the receiving end of Ron's complaints enough times to know that he hadn't made it past second base, as the Yanks would say. Somehow, Hermione had had the willpower to say no so that Ron hadn't gone too far.

Nor would he ever, Harry had grimly decided. He'd been waiting when Hermione had finished her shift at Flourish and Blotts where she'd been working part-time while she looked for an apprenticeship in runic enchanting. She hadn't had any luck so far, but had hoped to see a response to the many letters she sent out soon. Still, it was unlikely to be in Britain as the old Pureblood families still held a great deal of control despite some of the changes that had occurred postwar.

Harry had tried to get Hermione to drink the purgative, but ultimately had to petrify her and spell it into her stomach, something he'd learned from Madam Pomfrey. Hermione's reaction had been ghastly, or perhaps it had just been worse watching someone he cared about going the same thing he had. In the end, however, she'd been clear of the influence of potions.

Harry had taken Hermione back to Grimauld Place, locking them up behind the ancient wards there. They'd spoken long into the night. Hermione had confessed how Ron had almost had her convinced to marry him and give up the idea of a career, instead focusing on being a wife and mother. It had felt wrong, like a square peg in a round hole and now she understood why she'd considered it.

Harry, on the other hand, had told Hermione of how he had been contemplating leaving the Wizarding world. It had been on his mind ever since becoming the master of the Hallows. And not just to flee into the Muggle one, but rather, to leave this world behind entirely and travel to a new one where the Hallows would be contained, passing into obscurity when he died. He'd even gone as far as to use the Black Family library to research a ritual that would send him away, but the arithmetic and runic calculations involved had been far beyond him.

Harry had a rough, working knowledge of each discipline, gained through brutal necessity during the time they had been on the run, but the fact that Harry had never taken either while at Hogwarts had kept him from going that route. Instead, he'd wondered aloud if going through the Veil of Death wouldn't do the same thing. Hermione had predicatively been horrified and had told Harry off. But then she'd offered her help with the ritual. She had understood the math and runes required. She had gotten together a list for Harry's trip with everything from potion components to funds, convincing him to liquidate his holdings to keep both the Ministry and Weasley's grubby paws off of them and convert them to gold.

"_Hermione, I can't stay here. I can't leave the Hallows alone because they want to be used. If I don't have them with me, they'll eventually seduce someone else. Plus I am the Master of Death. I feel the darkness closing in around me. If I could get to another world, the lure would be less, I truly believe. Maybe I should just jump through the Veil and return the Hallows to Death directly."_

_Hermione was less than impressed by his idea as her loud renunciation of it let him know in no uncertain terms. "Are you completely insane? How could you think it's a good idea to kill yourself just to get rid of a few magical artifacts? If you think for even one moment, Harry James Potter, that I am going to let you do something that hare-brained, you have another thing coming? Why I could just shake you until your teeth come out for saying that!"_

_Harry sat there, cringing slightly. Finally, though, he had enough and gathering what was left of his Gryffindor courage, he asked, "Well then, what do you suggest, if all my ideas are so bloody stupid?"_

_Hermione stared at him as he was retarded. As a slow flush crept up his face, she said, in an ever so reasonable tone, "You could ask me for help, you know."_

_Harry stared. "Help? From you?"_

_Hermione shook her head in exasperation. "Who else do you know that would be able to do the math on something this complicated and write out all of the runic arrays?"_

_Harry slowly nodded. "No one. Hermione, would you help me with a ritual to send me to another world?"_

_Hermione momentarily looked sad, but then nodded briskly. "Of course I would, Harry. What would you do without me?"_

_Harry drew a blank. What would he do without Hermione? Well, if things worked out, he'd have to learn. Harry ignored that little voice inside of himself that said he didn't want to._

It was Hermione, who later, upon realizing that every single application for an apprenticeship she'd sent out had been turned down without explanation, had decided that Harry needed a traveling companion to go with him on his epic journey. It had been "I'll go with you" writ large, as she would be leaving the entire world she knew behind. It had been meant as a gesture of friendship and had meant the world to Harry.

_Harry watched Hermione open the owl-delivered letter. After a moment, he asked, "Any luck?"_

_Hermione frowned and shook her head. "No. This one says that he has no openings at this time. Of course, according to Minister Shacklebolt, he had two just a week ago and no prospects to fill them."_

_Harry encouraged her. "You'll find something, Hermione. I know it."_

_Hermione shook her head. "Maybe if I want to wait tables or work as a clerk. I knew about the glass ceiling in the Wizarding world, I just never realized how embedded it was. It's everywhere, Harry."_

_Harry wanted to yell at the morons who didn't realize how amazing Hermione was and what they would get by accepting her. "I wish you would let me set you up in your own research facility. I can afford one better than almost anything out there."_

_Hermione looked pensive. "I don't think it will work, Harry. I can do the research, though it would take me longer since I'll need to catch up to the current knowledge levels without a teacher. But there are plenty of books on the subject, so I can make up the difference."_

_Harry was confused. "Then what's the problem?"_

_She looked sad. "I am. I don't want to do research that will help wizards live better lives. I know I'm being selfish, but I can't help feeling bitter about how things turned out. You and I sacrificed everything, only to find out after killing Voldemort that nothing's changed. I think you have the right idea."_

_Harry stared at her. It was so unlike Hermione to be this fatalistic. Where was the girl who can pulled a Don Quixote and charged the windmill of House Elf care? "Hermione, I'm worried about you. I-"_

_Suddenly, Hermione sat up straight as resolve filled her. She turned a bright smile his way as she interrupted him, "No need to worry, Harry. I've made up my mind. I'm going with _you._ You'd be too lonely going by yourself. Plus without me to pull you out of it, you'd brood. You need me, after all. When you think about it, it's actually quite brilliant."_

_Harry helplessly smiled back. There was that Don Quixote. He couldn't really say he was happy about her choice, but at the same time, something powerful within him strained at its bonds as long suppressed feelings rose. After a moment's thought, Harry reconsidered. Maybe he was happy. Hermione was his best friend and the person whom he loved most in the world. And he would have been lonely by himself, no matter how much he'd gotten used to it. He did need her after all, and now he wouldn't have to get used to living without her. So her coming with him was brilliant, just as she was._

Better yet, as they had both spent time together, gathering supplies and researching the ritual, there had been an increasing closeness between them. Just as in the Forest of Dean, they had grown closer and closer, except this time, without a Ron Weasley to interrupt, they had finally kissed. Their kiss had led to a confession of feelings on both their parts, Hermione confessing a crush since first year and a certain troll incident, and Harry indicating that he'd know Hermione was a girl since she practically pasted herself to him during their hypogryff ride. Her resulting blush had been both funny and sweet.

"_Harry, come look at this."_

_Harry leaned down to read over Hermione's shoulder. It was a written list, but of what, he couldn't say, distracted by the smell of Hermione's hair. It was apples and ink, books and sunshine, and he couldn't think as it filled his mind. It was also how Harry thought Amortentia would smell to him now. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice as Hermione's voice trailed off._

_She turned to look at him, their faces only inches apart. Harry could not control his lean as he crossed the distance to her lips, It was as if they summoned his. Kissing Hermione was warm and tender, yet with little fireworks that exploded in his brain. Their lips touched and caressed, slowly deepening, until finally he broke it, breathing deeply._

_Hermione's face was flushed and her lips swollen as she stared back at him. "Harry, what-"_

_Harry interrupted, "I think I love you, Hermione Granger. I think I love you more that I can bear."_

_Hermione's face blossomed like a flower as her smile grew brilliant. "You love me? Truly? Well, I love you too, Harry Potter."_

_Harry felt his own smile involuntarily stretch his lips in response. "You do? Since when?"_

_Hermione thoughtfully chewed her lower lip, and act that he'd always found both endearing and distracting. "I think since an incredibly brave boy saved me from a troll. But I never thought you'd feel the same way. I never thought you'd see me as a girl instead of a friend."_

_Harry's voice was ironic as he stated, "Hermione, I've known you were a girl ever since we rode that hypogryff together. You were pressed so tightly against me that I would have had to be completely oblivious not to figure that out. It was embarrassingly arousing at the time."_

_Hermione's face was slowly turning red. "Oh. I thought maybe you'd finally noticed during the Yule Ball because you stared at me for the longest time."_

_Harry brushed back her hair from her face, then cupped her cheek in his palm. Meeting her uncertain gaze, he said, "No, the hypogryff ride was when I saw you as a girl. I just didn't know what to do about it. I never thought someone as brilliant as you would like someone like me. However, the Yule Ball did open my eyes in a way. It was the first time that I noticed that you were beautiful and it broke my heart that you weren't going with me."_

"_Oh Harry!"_

Their conversation had been funny and tender and poignant as both reminisced over lost opportunities. Hermione had even confessed that it had been a desire to see Harry again that had brought her back to England and nothing else. She'd even planned to confess her feelings for him, but had never been able to gather her courage before being ensnared by potions.

Hermione had been quite angry at being potioned by Ron, equating it to rape. The fact that Ron confessed to loving her and wanted to marry her wasn't nearly enough reason to try to mind control someone. The only thing that kept her from using the blasting curse on his private parts was the fact that those private parts had never touched hers. Otherwise she might have killed him.

"_That bastard! I'm going to kill him!"_

_Harry tried to reason with Hermione, even though it was probably useless right now. "Calm down, Hermione. You don't want to do something you'll regret."_

"_Calm down? CALM DOWN? How would you feel if you had been magicked into believing you cared for someone?" Hermione's voice had risen to almost a shriek._

"_Hermione, I was. The same as you. I-"_

_Hermione hugged him. "Oh Harry, I'm so sorry for what happened to you. Maybe we should kill them both?"_

Harry had seen Hermione's temper before, but never to that degree. Still, in principle, he agreed with her, having tossed his cookies a time or three over snogging the girl who he equated with a sister. When he'd told Hermione as much, she'd questioned why he didn't feel that way about her, as she'd feared. Harry had just shrugged and told her that she was the only person he could say he truly loved, but that he'd never felt like her brother. It had earned him a long snogging session where that fact had been confirmed several times.

They had only run into the Weasleys one time during that the two month stretch between discovery and departure. Because Harry had buttoned up the house so securely that even floo calls were rejected, there had been no opportunity for the Weasleys to talk to them, to convince them of their point of view. But there had been the occasional errand to Diagon Alley and Gringotts there. It had been on one such trip that they had finally run into Molly, Ginny, Ron, and George.

It had been a shock and had quickly turned ugly as accusations were thrown by each side as Molly had gotten louder and louder, only to be matched if not exceeded in decibels by Hermione. The only bright spot that had come out of it had been the knowledge that George, at least, had know nothing about the Amortentia. His expression, over the course of the confrontation, had ranged from anger to confusion to surprise to horror and finally, back to anger. His target at the end had been his own family. He'd even offered the money that Harry had given him back, but Harry had waved him off and given him a quiet goodbye with such finality that both men had understood it would be the last time they met.

"_Harry! Harry! HARRY! Dear boy, I'm so glad we finally caught up to you. We haven't been able to reach you for weeks. Grimauld Place's wards are up. And when your things disappeared, well, we all thought the worst. You need to come home with us, Harry."_

_Harry could feel Hermione bristle at his side as noted how neither Ginny nor Ron could meet his or Hermione's eyes. George did and looked worried, while Molly had a note of genuine concern mixed in with a lot of things he'd rather not know about. "I don't think that's a good idea, Mrs Weasley."_

"_Mrs Weasley? You know it's Molly to you, dear. Now come home. You too, Hermione."_

"_Yeah, mate. Rent's due and I'm a little short, plus Gin's been missing you awful. I've missed you the same, Hermione."_

"_Come home so we can be potioned again? I don't think so, Ronald. I don't think I ever want to see any of you again!"_

"_Hermione, dear, you're just confused. Come back to to the Burrow and I'll brew a nice cup-"_

"_Are you people mental? We're not coming back. We never coming back. You just want Harry for his money and me to be some kind of broodmare for Ron. I hate you all!"_

_More invective in the same vein followed from both sides. Harry watched George take a step away from his family, a look of horror on his face. He gave Harry a helpless look, then stepped forward to stand beside him. In a low voice, he said, "Sorry, mate. Never would have believed it without seeing it. I'll get you the money I owe you in a few days even if I have to sell the business. I-"_

"_No. Don't worry about the money. I don't need it. Consider it a gift. Just be careful of your brother."_

_The disgust in George's eyes deepened. "He's gone. I don't need a partner like him. Now you on the other hand..."_

_Harry just shook his head with finality. Meeting his eyes, George slowly nodded his understanding. After a moment more, Harry broke up the shouting match between the others by the simply method of grabbing Hermione and side-a-long apparating her away. He didn't care that the anti-apparation wards in Diagon Alley shattered with sound like glass breaking accompanied by an ozone-like odor as he shrugged them aside. They just needed to get away. And they wouldn't be going back._

Molly and Co hadn't given up, but Grimauld was a fortress and she wasn't getting in. And there was no need to leave again as even Harry and Hermione's food had been being delivered by house elves. Mimer and Posey, a mated pair of Potter elves that had finally tracked Harry down shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts to bond with him, took care of all of his needs during this time. They had been the last of the Potter elves, being only children when Harry's parents had died, and badly in need of the bond. Harry had bonded them both back then without telling Hermione as he saw no reason to upset her. After retreating to Grimauld Place, he had called them to him. The two elves had taken care of the two of them for the two months they'd been there.

"_Mimer. Posey. Come here please," Harry called._

_With a pop, the two elves arrived. "Master Harry needs something?" Mimer inquired._

"_Please, Mimer. Can you and Posey take over the care of the house, getting us meals and such, and taking care of laundry until such time as Hermione and I leave?"_

_Mimer eyed him closely. He was a far different elf than the excitable Dobby, though no less loyal. He also seemed to have a deeper understanding of things. "Of course, Master. When will we be leaving?"_

_Harry frowned. "Hermione and I will be leaving in a few weeks. You'll need to stay here with the house."_

_Mimer nodded. "Master wishes us to slowly starve to death. We understand." Beside him, Posey nodded as well._

_Harry was shocked. "No! There'll be no starving. I'll find you another family. You'll be fine."_

_Both elves shook their heads. Mimer replied. "We are Potter Elves. The last of our kind. We will not accept another's bond. Do not worry, Master, we accept our fate." They bowed with dignity._

_Harry stared at the two elves. With growing suspicion, he said, "I see that you have left me with no choice. You can both come along along. Well-played."_

_It was Posey who replied. "It was needed, Master Harry. We can't stop you from taking terrible risks, fighting Dark Lords and such, but now that we've found you, we will stay at your side."_

_Harry nodded. "Fine. Let's not tell Hermione just yet. Okay?"_

_He received a chorus of "Yes, Master Harry."_

_Great, thought Harry, wait until Hermione finds out._

Then it had been time to go. To finalize the packing of all their remaining worldly goods into apartment trunks to be shrunk and placed on Harry's belt. If he'd sneaked in a few things (and a couple of elves) that Hermione would not have approved of, it couldn't be helped. She could give him the benefit of the doubt since he had not only packed up the Potter and Black libraries for her, but had spent an absurd amount of galleons purchasing a copy of every book on magic he could track down.

Hermione had agonized over the runic arrays, laid out in a great spiral in the grand ballroom. The array had been more than one hundred feet across and had consisted of a staggering number of runes laid out in various complicated patterns. Looking it over, Harry had comprehended about five percent of the total. However, he had complete confidence in Hermione. Which clearly was the right decision as they were here, even if they'd missed their target.

Sometime during Harry's internal soliloquy, Hermione had fallen asleep. Harry lightly stroked her hair back from her face. Hair that had grown decreasingly less bushy as Hermione used his Christmas gift to brush her hair every night. It was odd to think that after all of these years of trying different things, Hermione's hair had been tamed by an enchanted object. One that had cost substantially more than even a Firebolt in price, something that still stunned Harry when he thought about it. He could only speculate that it contained roughly the same amount of runework and spells on a vastly smaller chassis, smaller typically meaning more expensive.

But she was worth it. Harry had decided that come Heaven or Hell, being with Hermione was worth any any risk, any sacrifice. She was the light at the end. She was his home. With that thought warming his heart, Harry found himself drifting off to sleep.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\


	2. Chapter Two—Sightseeing

**Chapter Two—Sightseeing **

"Tony, are you sure about this? I mean New York?" Pepper wondered sometimes if her boss and erstwhile romantic partner did the things he did just to mess with her.

"Of course I'm sure, Pepper. I'm always sure about anything I do."

"Right..." Pepper trailed off. Then briskly, "If we're going to do this, build this building, move the company there, I'm going to need you to finish those blueprints _and_ the latest redesign for the arc reactor."

Pepper couldn't help the little skip her heart made at Tony's grin. "No problem. I'll have them to you in three weeks."

Pepper slowly shook her head. "I don't think so. You'll have them to me by by the end of _this_ week. We need those plans for Phase One. "

Tony's smile dimmed. He muttered under his breath, "Slave driver."

"What was that?"

"Beautiful slave driver? Okay, you heard that Jarvis, we need to get to work."

A dry British-accented voice responded, "Of course _we_ do, sir."

Oddly, Tony looked pleased. "You hear that? How many people do you think can program an AI to be sarcastic? I'll tell you how many. One. Me."

Pepper gave Tony a quick kiss on the cheek. "I know. You're brilliant. Now get to work while I fly out to New York. I have to push those permits through one last time."

"Really? You're flying out? I thought we could-"

Pepper raised one brow. "Could what?"

Tony's smile grew suggestive. "Dinner, a little champagne, dancing, finishing here at the house?"

"Sounds wonderful."

Tony leaned in. "Really?"

"Really. You go do that. I'll be in New York." Pepper walked off with a wistful smile on her face. Sometimes Tony was just too easy. Still, sometimes he made it hard to leave. _Really_ hard.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Hermione stirred, a smile on her face. She felt wonderful. Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking at the light. Hermione was reaching her arms up to stretch when she noticed that she was only wearing her underwear. The smile on her face grew as she murmured, "Harry, you bad boy."

"Master Harry isn't here, Mistress Hermione."

"Ahhhhh!" Hermione was so badly startled by the unknown voice that she fell out of bed and landed in a heap amid pillows and covers on the floor. She raised her head, brushing hair out of her eyes, looking for the source of the voice. That's when she spied her. "Posey? What are _you_ doing here?"

Posey blinked a couple of times. "I am here to take care of you and the Master, Mistress Hermione."

Hermione blinked rapidly. House Elves could be so literal. She began again. "I mean, how are you here. You were going to stay at Grimauld Place."

"Master Harry brought us."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Did he now? So I have you to thank for putting me to bed last night?"

Posey nodded. "Yes, Mistress. You and Master Harry fell asleep on the sofa. We didn't want you to be uncomfortable so I took care of you and Rimer took care of Master Harry."

Hermione smiled sweetly. She was so going to _kill _him. "So where is 'Master' Harry?"

"I don't know, Mistress. The Master left very early. While you wait, would you like breakfast? I made your favorites."

Hermione sighed internally. She'd tried several times with no success to get both of the House Elves to just call her Hermione. They had been oh so polite, but infinitely stubborn. It didn't help that despite the fact that they were so polite, neither was even the slightest bit obsequious. Instead, their polite requests almost seemed like commands, albeit very reasonable ones. Which was why she smiled as she found herself nodding, "That would be wonderful, Posey. Thank you."

As she sat down, Hermione found herself wondering just how the Elves had been able to find someplace to cook a full breakfast?

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Harry walked briskly down the street, a pace matched or exceeded by every other person on the sidewalk. He'd had a productive morning. First, he managed to sell a half dozen gold bars, each weighing a kilogram apiece or just over 32 troy ounces. Of course, thanks to Hermione, he had a ridiculous number still in his bags. She had been the one who talked him into selling all his properties and closing his Gringotts accounts, converting the resulting galleons into gold and platinum bullion. The roughly forty-five million galleons had turned into a tad over two hundred and twenty-five million pounds sterling. The majority of those galleons coming from the Black estate Harry had inherited from Sirius.

Of course, the pound sterling versus Canadian dollar rate was approximately a pound sterling to two point four Canadian dollars, something Harry only knew because they were supposed to end up in Canada. Hermione had explained various exchange rates, but all Harry had known was that he had plenty of money. Even after ending up the US instead of Canada. Plus, that the price of gold had shot through the roof during their journey.

Harry knew that they had ended up in the future. Just under eleven years in the future. It had been March of 1999 when they'd left. Now it was February of the year 2010. Walking down the streets, Harry hadn't know what to expect. Culture shock? Crazy technology? Economic madness? None of the above had materialized.

Oh, there had been the tiny phones that everyone and their mother seemed to have glued to their ears most of the day, which were a surprise. Still, Harry had seen the usefulness of them and stopped off at a store to pick up one each for himself and Hermione, buying ones with prepaid minutes.

And there were the storefronts dominated by giant flatscreen tellies that Harry promised himself he would buy when he found a place to settle. The rest of what he'd seen? Not so different.

Harry had expected things to cost more, although oddly enough, the things he'd seen didn't seem much if any more expensive than he was used to. The only thing he'd found that was far pricier was a cup of coffee sold at some place called 'Starbucks.' How much of that was confusion with the exchange rate, he wasn't sure. But more than five dollars for a cup of coffee seemed expensive.

Even with five dollar cups of coffee, Harry had plenty of money, a fact demonstrated by the sale he'd just made. A kilo bar of gold that he'd bought for roughly fifty-eight hundred pounds was now selling for well over forty-five thousand dollars. Even Harry's rough math could figure out that he had an even more ridiculous amount of money now than before.

As for the money from the bars he'd sold, it had been put partially into an account in the Caymans and partially turned into cash. Harry had received four credit cards linked to the account. He was also walking around with more than fifty thousand dollars in cash.

The Gold Exchange, which appeared to be some cross between a precious metals exchange and a bank, had been very helpful. Harry's agent, a man named Stanislaw Lem, had been mostly honest during the transaction, at least according to a cursory Legilimency scan. How much of that was because of the money he'd made off of Harry and how much was because he thought he could make a great deal more in the future, Harry didn't know. Regardless, his surface thoughts showed that Harry hadn't been cheated and would even become a preferred customer with a few more transactions of this size.

Harry had even gotten contact information for someone who could provide Hermione and himself with identities that would stand up to in depth examination. It would be very expensive, hence the cash Harry had taken. Apparently, something called 'nine eleven' had led to a tightening of security and identity on a frightening scale. Determined to find out more later, Harry had merely nodded in agreement that he didn't want to end up in something called '_Guantanamo Bay.' _ He had wondered briefly why a metal exchange/bank would have information on a document forger, but Stanislaw simply treated it as if it were a standard service. Harry wouldn't get anymore information unless he was willing to scan deeper, something he was loathe to do_.  
_

The last thing Harry had done was to use a Memory Charm on Stanislaw, erasing anything regarding getting new identities. He didn't want to get into the habit of throwing such charms around, but when it came to protecting Hermione, there wasn't much he wouldn't do. Harry also had to admit that all of the talk of detainment camps made him a bit nervous.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Harry swiped his key card and walked in. His first clue that something was wrong was hearing his name.

"Harry James Potter!"

Harry whirled around to see Hermione standing next to Mimer and Posey. Uh oh, he thought. Harry decided to brazen it out. "Hermione! You're up. And looking utterly ravishing. Would you like to know what I've been doing all morning?"

Hermione's face wore a scowl as she demanded, "Just what were you thinking? You were supposed to find them a new home. I thought that you were going to leave them with Andromeda or Neville so that eventually they would take care of Teddy. Instead, I find that they're here. You brought them here. Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Harry sighed. "Hermione, the truth is that they weren't ever going to go to Andromeda's. Or any other family. They're Potter Elves. They want to die Potter Elves. They made sure that I understood that. So what would you have me do?"

Hermione's face underwent a transition from angry to disbelieving to finally sad. She knelt between the Elves. "Rimer, Posey, don't you want to be free?"

There was an enormous dignity to Rimer as he met her eyes. "Mistress, I am free. As free as I _choose_ to be. I would choose to do the same if I were not bonded. The Bond is not slavery. It is life and family. That is our happiness. Sometimes, it is true, our family is bad. They are cruel and would hurt us. But even then, a bad family is better than no family."

Beside her, Posey solemnly nodded her head. Hermione looked stricken. Harry walked over to her and pulled her to her feet. He gently hugged her. "Hermione, we can't always understand what others want. Besides, I don't know why you insist that they're slaves. It always seems that anytime a situation comes up where they want something, they get their way. Don't you, Rimer?"

Rimer looked shocked. "Of course not, Master Harry. A House Elf always does as his Master requires."

Harry stared at him in amusement. He pulled out of Hermione's embrace and gave her a significant glance. "Okay, then. Rimer, please call me Harry. Just Harry."

Rimer shook his head. "Oh no, Master Harry. I could never do that."

Hermione's face had lost that look of sadness. a glint of humor returning to her eyes. Harry smiled at her. With mock exasperation, he said, "See what I mean? They always get their way."

Posey spoke up, "Is Master Harry ready for his breakfast? I have a lovely plate laid out for you at the table over here."

Automatically, Harry agreed. "Sure thing, Posey." Then he stopped, shaking his head, wondering how much of what he'd told Hermione was actually true...

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

"Hermione, my feet are killing me. How much further do you plan to go today?"

Hermione smiled in amusement. "Is the big, bad Quidditch player feeling tired? I wonder what it says about you that a girl can walk circles around you? Come on, we have lots of things still to see this morning."

Harry nodded silently. Hermione _could_ walk circles around him. Especially while sightseeing. A taxi had dropped them off in midtown Manhattan and they'd been walking for hours. Occasionally popping into little shops and cafes, they had to have walked at least ten miles.

"Oooh, look, Harry, a bookstore!" Hermione's happy squeal pierced the air.

Harry smiled at her joy. Hermione always loved a bookstore, especially the hole in the wall ones like the one they were standing in front of. The opposite of the faceless corporate giants, it was dim and cosy and more than a bit dusty. Harry, himself, liked two out of three of its qualities, while he was certain that Hermione like all three.

The proprietor, standing behind the counter, was packing books into a box. A small, sharp-eyed man, his hair was just turning gray. Lines that leaned more towards laughter than sorrow touched his faded blue eyes and the corners of his mouth. Now, though, he wore a slightly harried look as he greeted them.

"Hello, folks. Welcome to Novel Ideas. I'm Barnaby Neil. Everything's on sale. If you're looking for anything in particular, let me know and I can help you find it."

Hermione stopped in front of counter. "Mr Neil, you look like you're going out of business."

The man, Barnaby, paused. A sad, tired smile crossed his face. "Yes, miss..."

"Hermione Granger. But, please, call me Hermione."

Mr Neil leaned on the counter. "Miss Gr- Hermione. Pleased to meet you. Call me Barnaby, And yes, I am going out of business. My family's owned this store since before I was born. But costs have gone up every year and profits down. And business? The internet has squeezed even the big chains. My small shop just hasn't been able to keep up. This last tax increase by the city has finally squeezed me too much. So I'm packing up and selling off the premises. At least with real estate prices as high as they are, it'll make a nice nest egg."

"Barnaby, how much does something like this place cost?" Hermione asked. Next to her, Harry's attention increased as he noticed Hermione's genuine interest.

Barnaby grimaced. "I'm hoping to get four point five million for the space. There's seventy eight hundred square feet pretty evenly divided up between the ground floor, the upstairs, and the basement."

Harry noticed Hermione's look of disappointment and correctly surmised that the amount had frightened her off. He introduced himself. "Harry Potter, Mr Neil." At the man's look, Harry changed, "Barnaby, rather. Is that typical for commercial real estate in New York?"

Barnaby nodded. "Nice to meet you, Harry. Actually, it's a bit light. But with the constraints on the usable space, it about right."

"What constraints are those?"

"Well, the upstairs is zoned for residential and can't be used for commercial use except for storage." At Hermione's curious look, he explained, "It's from back when many people lived above the businesses they owned and ran. The basement can, but there's a rather tight access to it with the set up of the building. Even with the prime location here on Park Avenue, it won't go for as much as I'd like. Not like that new skyscraper they're building just down the street. Space in there is going for more than three times what I'll get. But then that Tony Stark is a genius in business."

That was the second time in two days that Harry had heard that name. Still, he dismissed it, as wealthy billionaires who like to dress up in metal suits and fly around had nothing to do with him. "Do you have a buyer yet, Barnaby?"

Barnaby shook his head. "Not yet. I'm talking to two different real estate agents, trying to see who can get me the best price. Of course the vultures want ten percent to sell the place." He frowned in irritation. "Only in New York."

Harry met Hermione's gaze. "You want this, Hermione?"

Hermione looked doubtful. "Harry, that is a lot of money. I don't-"

Harry shrugged. "I have it. What's money for except to buy the things we want? I can see that you want this place. So just say yes."

Hermione chewed her lower lip, as a tug of desire hit Harry. She noticed where his eyes were focused, and smiled. In a decisive tone, she said, "Okay. I want it. Please."

Harry bit back a grin as he turned to Barnaby who was giving him a dubious look. Clearly he didn't think that a couple of kids had the wherewithal to purchase his premises. "Barnaby, I'll give you five million for this place. Just give me a week to get the money together."

Barnaby sighed. "Look, Harry, I'm not trying to cast doubts on your word, but you don't really look like someone who has access to that kind of money. Do you have any proof that you can come up with it?"

Harry thought for a moment, then turned away, reaching into the bottomless bag he carried on his belt under Notice-Me-Not Charms. He grabbed a kilo bar of gold and pulled it out. Turning back to Barnaby, he handed it to the man.

Barnaby stared at the small flat bar that covered just over half of his palm etched with '.999 Fine Gold' and '1 Kilo' on its surface, then turned his stare to Harry who shrugged. "That's solid gold, isn't it?"

Harry answered amiably, "Yes, it is."

Barnaby slowly handed it back, as if reluctant to release it. He nodded. "Okay. A week it is. Ahh, while you're here, do you at least want to see the upstairs and basement?"

Harry and Hermione agreed and within minutes were getting a quick tour of the upstairs. It turned out to be just one large room, which could be subdivided. It also could have Space Expansion Charms applied to it, which would substantially increase the space. The basement was the same and would make a great space for Hermione to work as well as a wonderful dueling range for Harry who didn't want his skills in that area to grow too rusty. In the end, Harry was even more determined to buy it.

After that, the two teens headed back to their hotel where Hermione reminded Harry to pay for their suite for real this time. Once they got upstairs, Harry had barely closed the door behind them when he had a armful of witch.

Hermione kissed him passionately. "You.'' Kiss. "Are." Kiss. "The." Kiss. "Most." Kiss. "Wonderful." Kiss. "Boyfriend." Kiss. "Ever."

Harry kissed her back just as passionately. Finally, though, she broke the kiss, resting her head on his chest. Harry teased, "Remind me to buy you something every day if that's the thanks I get."

Hermione lightly smacked him. "Prat."

Harry captured her wrist, tenderly kissing the pulse. "I like it, too. That lower space is big enough with expansion charms to ride a broom in."

Hermione laughed. "I should have known that you brought a broom with you."

Harry grinned. "I brought ten."

Hermione looked surprised. "Ten? Why ever for?"

Completely straight-faced, Harry explained, "Why for our kids, of course. We'll need enough to field two teams."

Hermione's eyes bulged. "Ten kids? You want to have ten kids?" She sounded faint.

Harry eased around behind Hermione as his arms embraced her. Breathing in the scent of her hair, he murmured in her ear, "Sure. Five girls and five boys. Just think how much fun conceiving them will be."

Hermione seemed to have finally figured out that he was joking. She pinched his arm hard as she fondly said, "Prat."

"Ouch! Be careful, Hermione. Those arms need to be strong to keep my weight off of your during the conception process."

Hermione spun herself out of his arms. Harry noticed the intense blush on her face from his comment. It didn't stop her from giving him a saucy wink. "Really? What makes you think I'll be the one on my back?"

How he could still blush with all of the blood in his body rushing to his groin, Harry didn't know. Nor how he could still manage to chase Hermione. Still, somehow, he managed.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Agent Miriam Campbell stared at the surveillance tape that they were monitoring from the Gold Exchange. With her increasing familiarity with the subjects of their investigation, she easily recognized everyone there. Then...

"Hello. Now who would you be?"

Her supervisor, Agent Samuel Frist glanced over towards from his own monitor. "Got something, Miri?"

"Maybe. A new player certainly. Unidentified Caucasian male. Late teens/early twenties. Cashing in six kilos of gold bullion worth nearly two hundred and seventy-five thousand."

Sam frowned at her and quickly slaved his feed to hers. "I don't recognize him. Doesn't appear Middle Eastern. Anybody else dealing with large amounts of bullion these days?"

Miri nodded absently. "A few groups. None that would have a kid represent them. At least I don't think so. Should I kick it upstairs to Strategic Planning?"

Sam frowned. "How did he receive the funds?"

Miri reviewed the tape again. "Forty or fifty k in cash, the rest the usual Cayman hideaway account."

Sam nodded. "That much cash carries some serious possibilities for mischief. Okay, run him through the image recognition software. Depending on what it spits out, send to it to Agent Hill. Low priority, though. Doesn't really look like all that much."

Miri felt like fainting. Not much? Then why was Sam telling her to possibly bump it to Maria Hill, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent extraordinaire? She-who-was-in-charge of Strategic Planning. Miri whistled silently. The next thing you know he was going to tell her to send it to the Director himself. Then she had a quiet laugh at the thought of anything that she was monitoring being important enough for Nick Fury to care a lick about.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\


	3. Chapter Three—Tactics of Mistake

**Chapter Three—Tactics of Mistake**

**AN:** There is an intimate scene between Harry and Hermione in this chapter that I believe stays within the PG-13 nature of the T Rating. If any of you disagree, please let me know in a PM or a review. I am trying to keep this family friendly by allowing most of the action to happen 'offstage' as it were.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Hermione sat down and did some quick math as to how much gold they needed to convert to cash in order to buy the bookstore. Then she made a quick mental note to ask Mr Neil about an account to wire the money into. Then she stopped thinking a moment and frowned. There was something niggling at the back of her brain trying to get her attention.

Finally, after thinking deeply on the matter a few minutes, Hermione remembered. She'd never asked Harry where he'd gone to convert the first gold bars to cash. And how he had gone about doing it. Certainly, he must have used Confundus Charms at a minimum as well as a glamor. But she needed to know so she could figure out if it were a viable method for the remaining funds they needed. Hermione decided to ask him straightaway.

"Harry? Do you have a second?"

Harry, who'd been perusing a pile of newspapers trying to get a feel for their new home, looked up, pushing messy black hair back from his eyes. "Sure thing, Hermione. Hey, did you know that there's some giant green monster running around out in the countryside somewhere? I read about it in the Daily News."

Hermione hid a grin. He was just so cute. She did, however, point out something. "Harry, that's a tabloid."

Harry cocked an eyebrow in inquiry. "So?"

Hermione explained, "Think the worst parts of the Quibbler and the Daily Prophet."

Harry dropped the paper he was holding, a disgusted look on his face. "Seriously? That bloody bites."

"Language, Harry." Hermione's teasing admonishment was halfhearted at best. Sometimes she forgot just how naive and inexperienced Harry could be. He'd never gotten to experience so many of the things that the rest of them took for granted. While it wasn't something that she really _approved_ of, Hermione would have given anything for Harry to have had a chance to stare at a Page 3 girl or two, like any other normal teenage male. She blinked at the faint stinging sensation in her eyes and focused on the task at hand. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about the place you sold the gold to. I take it that you used a Confundus Charm to get around the need for ID?"

Harry looked perplexed. "No, I didn't have to. They just bought it."

Hermione felt an icy sensation descending down her spine. "They just bought it? Without identification? Harry, let me see that paperwork."

Taking the paperwork he handed her, Hermione scanned over the bank account documentation. It only made things worse. "Harry, how much cash did you get for those bars? Besides what's in these accounts?"

"Fifty thousand dollars. Err... American dollars."

"Well, it appears that you were charged about thirty-five thousand dollars for them to take the gold and set up these accounts and provide you with cash."

Harry looked poleaxed. He groaned, "I'm an idiot."

Hermione wanted to agree, but she wasn't going to pile on him. But she was going to tell him just how much trouble they might be in. "The thing is, the accounts seem legitimate. I mean, they _do_ seem to exist. But they're based out of the Cayman Islands. Even back where we're from, I remember hearing on the news about people using accounts there to dodge taxes and to hide ill gotten gains. I think there's something really fishy here."

Harry held up a hand, appearing to be thinking deeply. After a moment, he said, "It should be legitimate. I even used a surface scan with legilimency to confirm that I wasn't being cheated. I don't understand how I missed this."

Hermione suppressed her instinctive frown. A surface scan with passive legilimency was completely harmless and did not really invade someone's privacy as it only read thoughts that were being practically shouted to the world. A person who was exceptionally good at reading faces could do just as well. Still, she would have preferred he'd avoided it. "Harry, maybe you weren't cheated. I think there's something very wrong with this place you went to. You always read about fronts for criminals enterprises. Could you have stumbled on one? Where did you hear about this place?"

Harry shrugged. "I asked a taxi driver."

Hermione couldn't really fault him for asking for directions, although she probably needed to point out that New York taxi drivers were nothing like the ones in London. She'd figured that within thirty seconds of getting into the smoky smelling cab with the odd Middle Eastern driver earlier today for the drive over to Manhattan Island. Then again, Harry had probably never ridden in a cab before yesterday, the Knight Bus being the closest substitute. Certainly, he'd never ridden taxis in other countries where the drivers seemed to know more about criminal goings on than the police. And were always willing to direct you there for a price.

Hermione considered all of the events so far and decided everything should be okay. "Well, it can't be helped now. At least you had on a Glamor so they don't know what you really look like."

Dead silence answered her. Harry looked horrified. Carefully controlling her voice as she knew she had a tendency to screech when she was worried or upset, Hermione asked, "You did use a Glamor, right?" Unfortunately, she already knew the answer from the look on Harry's face.

Harry whispered, "I forgot."

Now Hermione screeched, if only a little. "Harry, we talked about that before we got here! How could you forget?" How long ago had she gone over those plans with Harry? How had he forgotten?

Harry sighed. "Hermione, we talked about it over six weeks ago. Before you even agreed to come with me. I remember it being on a list, but that's all I remembered until just now when you asked."

For the first time, Hermione was really worried. "Harry, we could be in serious trouble here. I don't know one way or the other for sure, but I am worried. At the very least they would have records of these accounts."

Harry nodded. "I think I get it. Even if these guys aren't going to bother us, if they're doing something illegal and get raided by the government, they might still have that information. And then we'd be on the government's radar."

It looked like he was finally beginning to understand the seriousness of everything. Hermione nodded agreement and said, "No matter how good our ID's are going to be, I doubt they could withstand that kind of scrutiny."

Harry suggested, "We could just abandon the accounts. Take the cash and walk away. It's an expensive lesson, but fairly trivial compared to what we still have left."

Harry was right about one thing. The amount in those accounts was trivial. She would happily trade it all for assurances that Harry was safe and anonymous still. Unfortunately, she didn't think they had the luxury. Hermione shook her head. "Let me think for a second." Then she saw it. "They still have you on video surveillance. A place like that is going to have cameras. Worse, these modern cameras here have amazing clarity, not like those grainy ones we've seen on the telly back in the day."

Harry straightened. "I could go in and deal with the cameras. I mean, they're electronic, right? Strong magic and electronics don't mix."

_He _could go? Harry always seemed to think he needed to fix everything by himself. Hermione disagreed. "I don't like adding yet another risky visit."

Harry was excited about his plan. "We could do it at night. In and out, just like that. One powerful burst of magic, then pfft! Nothing electronic will be left. Computers, hard drives, cameras, all gone."

At least the we was better, she thought moodily. However, Hermione remained skeptical. "Harry, it would take a lot of magic to be guaranteed for that to work. What spells were you thinking?"

Harry looked both uncertain and reluctant as he explained, "Actually, it wasn't the spell selection so much as the wand selection that I figured would work."

Hermione's first instinct was to protest, but she stopped and thought about it objectively instead. No one here knew about the Elder Wand. It shouldn't be any more risky in that way than using a regular wand. But that was the problem. It was all supposition. They didn't know enough about their new home to know for sure. And Harry had had those nightmares that were possibly linked to the Hallows, at least he thought so. Certainly he was leery enough of the Hallows to want to remove them from their world. Finally, Hermione shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. No truly concrete reason, I would just rather err on the side of caution."

Harry's expression was a dead giveaway that he disagreed, but he didn't argue. "That's okay. Merlin knows I'm strong enough that with the right spell I could fry pretty much anything anyway."

True, Harry's magic was so strong that it sometimes amazed her. Hermione smiled in relief. At last, something they could both agree on. "I think if we use a combination of Freezing Charms, Light Spells, and the Muffliato, cast over and over again, that would do it."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "We?"

Back to that again, was he? Well, Harry needed to learn to accept help. Hermione nodded. "It's going to be 'we' or nothing. I'm not letting you out of my sight after what happened yesterday."

Hermione gave Harry a look that conveyed just how serious she was. He finally nodded. "Fine, but we're going to be careful."

Hermione wanted to laugh. Harry was the least careful person she'd ever met. Still, he'd made it to this point. "We'll need to apparate inside. Can you side-a-long me from here?"

Harry shrugged. "Sure. No problem."

Hermione silently shook her head. Just like that, Harry was going to side-a-long someone someplace that he'd been to exactly once. And do it easily. So much for the three D's, she thought darkly. But then again, he was Harry. Ever since the day he'd side-a-longed her right through the anti-apparation wards of Diagon Alley as if they didn't exist, Hermione had finally understood what it meant when a younger Harry had done something similar with Professor Dumbledore, except it was over several hundred miles distance instead of through wards. Sometimes, when she'd forget just _how_ powerful Harry was, he'd again do something effortlessly that she couldn't do in a million years. Now, if he could just remember all of the 'trivial' details of their plans, Hermione thought in affectionate exasperation.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Miri booted up her computer and loaded the surveillance program, ready to spend another exciting, fun-filled day going through surveillance video from several sites. She'd do the Gold Exchange first to see if there had been any additional visits from the new customer, since, sadly, that was the most interesting thing that had happened the past two weeks. That was when she realized that there was almost nothing to review. The queue for the video was virtually empty.

Miri turned to her boss. "Sam, can you check the feeds for the Exchange? I have hardly any video."

Sam nodded. "Sure. Let me see,,, okay, that's weird. The cameras are down. All of them."

Miri felt her stomach sinking. "Did they find the feeds and destroy them?"

Sam shook his head. "It doesn't feel right. Go to the last moment we have video."

Miri nodded. "Ahh, okay, but there's never anything at night. I usually scan through it and WHOAH!"

Sam reacted immediately. "What do you have?"

Wordlessly, Miri turned her monitor towards Sam. On the screen was an image which existed for exactly ten frames of video before the cameras went. An image which showed two shadowy figures, both holding some kind of objects in their hands. Objects from which bright light was literally blazing!

Sam shook his head. "Where did they come from? I can't see an entrance. Is the feed continuous? There isn't a splice in there?"

Miri kept shaking her head as she looped the video. "No idea. And yes, the timestamps sync just fine. To the microsecond in fact. We have our two mystery guests appearing out of thin air at 0132 hours. They immediately do their thing and the cameras are gone barely a second later. We were lucky to get the video we did."

Sam looked thoughtful. "I don't know what to be the most worried about, them appearing out of thin air or the cameras being destroyed. Another question: Was this an attack aimed at our surveillance or was it aimed at the Gold Exchange and the syndicate behind it? We need to schedule an on site visit ASAP. Congratulations, Agent Campbell, you're going into the field."

Miri started. "I am? I mean... yes sir!" After a moment, she diffidently asked, "Agent Frist, what happens if I find something?"

"Then you send another report to Agent Hill to accompany the one I am going to start typing up immediately. Only this time you mark it 'Urgent: Eyes Only'. Understand?"

Miri nodded. "I understand." In her head, she was doing cartwheels. I'm going into the field, she exulted!

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Agent Grant Ward scuffed the bottom of his shoes idly on the concrete as he waited for his baby sitting assignment to get there. While intellectually, he understood that you had to spend time 'back in the world.' he would have much preferred to spend it 'in country' instead. Worse, instead of teaming him with a real agent, he was paired up with a weenie from the Analysis Division on a waste of time search for a boondoggle. 'Teleporters.' Grant just shook his head.

Behind him, he heard a woman's footsteps approaching. Grant was considering just how he'd go about taking her out as a mental exercise, when she spoke, "Excuse me, are you Agent Grant Ward?"

Grant turned. At his curt nod, she continued, excitement audible in her voice, "I'm Agent Miriam Campbell, but you can call me Miri."

At his cool gaze, he saw her falter. Miri indeed. Maybe when they'd saved each other's lives a dozen times over they'd be on a first name basis. Maybe.

Grant noted that her jacket picture didn't do her justice. Miriam Campbell was an extraordinarily attractive brunette with high cheekbones, green eyes, and the tall, slender build of a professional model. Her looks would be an asset in the field, although she would require a great deal of additional training. Watching her fidget with the butt of her pistol, Grant sighed internally. A great deal.

Grant began the briefing. "We'll be penetrating the target at 0900 hours. Our mission is to deliver you to the target, then extract you when you have determined the cause of our systems failure. Bonus information requested is intelligence on any system failures of our target. Targets of opportunity are information on our 'teleporters' and any devices used. Obstacles are threefold. First, personnel on site, either armed or not. Second, any remaining alarms or surveillance still existent on site. Third, any devices potentially left behind by our bandits. The first two, we'll deal with the old-fashioned way. The third, we'll have to keep eyes and ears out and be ready for a strategic retreat. Any questions?"

Agent Campbell looked like she had a million, but in the end, just shook her head. "Then let's head out."

Grant was halfway out the door when he realized he was alone. He spoke dryly, "This way, Agent Campbell."

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Miri focused on what her erstwhile partner was saying as they approached the door. "...make sure to watch them only from the corner of your eyes. Peripheral vision is the key. Direct vision attracts the attention of your target. Lizard brain reactions. Remember your SHIELD training."

Miri nodded. "Yes, Agent Ward." More like Agent Hardass, she thought. At the three clicks from him, Miri clicked with her tongue three times back to indicate that she'd heard his test of the earbuds and the subvocal mics. It was too bad that such an attractive man had so little personality, she thought moodily. If Miri had to compare Agent Ward to anything, it would be to her Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm side arm, deadly and efficient.

Then they were at the door to the Gold Exchange and Miri no longer had time for speculation. She followed Agent Ward inside and stopped as they were confronted by two men.

"Hey! Yous can't be in here. Store's closed." The larger of the two men pushed into Agent Ward's space as he spoke, a Brooklyn accent coloring his speech.

Miri slipped around them towards the counter as Agent Ward got into an loud argument with the men. She ignored it and focused her attention on a man and a woman who were talking in loud whispers just inside of an office behind the counter. Miri used a ultra compact directional mic and started recording while she listened live.

"I don't know why it's fried, but it is."

"What about the back ups? They can't be dead. They were shielded against EMP."

"They're fried as well. I tested them with my laptop since every piece of electronic gear here is dead. As it is, my laptop blue screened twice during the testing. So something's hanging around still."

"We've lost all of our records, back ups included. Your laptop is the least of our worries. The bosses-"

SSSSCCRRREEEEEEEEE!

"Fuck!" Miri pulled the ear bud out as quickly as she could, then realized that she'd not only given herself away verbally with the curse, but physically with the gear. She was spinning around towards Agent Grant when she heard two shots. By the time she'd turned, both men were on the ground holding their legs and cursing with Agent Ward standing over them.

Miri was horrified. "You shot them!" she exclaimed.

Agent Ward stared at her so hard that Miri wondered if she had something on her face. He commanded, "Draw your weapon, _agent_. Keep an eye on these two while I round up the other two."

Miri pulled her S&W with a badly shaking hand. "I can't believe you shot them."

Agent Grant turned back towards her. "Believe it. What did you expect me to do? Use a tranq gun? Like anyone's going to waste time building one of those. Now stay here and watch them."

Miri didn't have to wait long. Agent Grant had the other two rounded up in a couple of minutes along with the laptop the woman had been using. As he forced them to sit with their hands behind their heads, Miri told him, "We need to get a SHIELD forensics team in here ASAP. I heard them talking about whatever it was that fried all of the electronics is still partially active. It got my mic."

The woman exclaimed, "How do you know that? Who are you people? What's SHIELD?"

The man next to her hissed, "Shut up, Jennifer! Don't tell them anything!"

In a sarcastic tone, 'Jennifer' replied, "Howard, you shut up. They can see that nothing's working. Even the lights and wall plugs are gone. I was on battery with my laptop."

Miri's mind was whirling. A self-contained EMP device small enough to be man-portable with a limited/selectable range that initiated total destruction of all electronics was a black op's or terrorist's dream. She didn't want to think of the implications for national defense. Someone could sneak one aboard a nuclear sub or into the White House. Or _teleport_ with it. Cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. If it could take out EMP-hardened electronics, even the Football carried with the President wasn't safe. Not to mention what it could do to America's ability to wage war. Couple that with potential teleportation, and it was going to rock SHIELD's world for months to come.

Miri asked the woman, Jennifer, about the EMP-hardening. "To what level were your back ups hardened against EMP?"

Howard spoke up. "Don't say a word, Jennifer."

Jennifer spat at him, "Oh, I'll be saying more than that. You said that the bosses aren't going to be happy and will blame us? Well, I'm not taking the blame. I'm making a deal in exchange for immunity. Hey, can you get me immunity?"

This last was aimed at Miri, who shrugged. "I can't promise anything. That will be up to the ADA and suits after. But if you cooperate now, when every moment is crucial, I'll put in a good word."

Jennifer looked uncertain, then nodded. "They were inside a full Faraday cage with fine copper mesh and full aluminum coverage. It was a Stark Industries FaraCage. A nuke would have to be close enough to melt it before the EMP would hit it."

Miri could feel her eyes pop. So much for her hope that the EMP-hardening was homemade out of copper wire and aluminum foil. Instead, it was top of the line. She shared a glance with Agent Ward, who looked supremely unconcerned. However, he did lean in and say, "I take it that's bad?"

Miri shuddered. In a shaking voice, she explained, "Couple that with possible teleporters, and it's the most significant threat to this country since the '62 Cuban missile crisis. It has the potential to destroy us as a society."

Agent Ward looked a little less cool now. "If that's true, and I'm not doubting you, what the hell were they doing using it in a place like this first? I mean, I've never heard of anything like it. Trust me, if it had been used anywhere before, I would know."

Miri just shook her head, half in confusion, half in denial. "I don't have the faintest idea. And that scares me even more."

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Harry woke to a body landing on his bed, half on top of him. Giggling sounds immediately gave away the person's identity. "Hermione? What gives?" He fumbled for his glasses.

She rolled around, hugging one of his pillows, before bouncing back to her feet, tossing it at him. As he batted it away, Harry's attention sharpened as he noticed what she was wearing. Or rather what she wasn't. Hermione was clad only in a thin white tank top and a tiny pair of white cotton panties. He swallowed at the sight of dark pink circles visible through the thin material. A grin grew on Harry's face as interesting things bounced along with Hermione as she landed on his bed again.

Hating for the show to be over, Harry still asked, "Okay, who are you and what did you do with Hermione?"

Hermione's giggles were dying down, but the face she turned towards Harry was still smiling widely. Hermione stretched out, her arms over her head as the white tank top clung to soft curves. "Harry, is it always this way for you?"

Harry was puzzled. "What way?"

Hermione's arms windmilled around her before settling back over her head. "This! Rebelling! Going against authority. I can't believe how much fun I had last night. I don't think I've had this much fun since..."

Softly, Harry asked, "Since when?"

Hermione continued, "Since third year when we went back in time, rode Buckbeak, and saved Sirius."

Harry briefly closed his eyes in pain. Then he opened them. He might miss his godfather, but he would be the first to admit that had been one fantastic adventure. To Hermione, he said, "Yeah, sometimes. That was a good time. Sometimes, it's good to thumb your nose at authority and just do your thing."

"Well, I had a wonderful time and now I can't stop smiling."

"Devil-woman," Harry said affectionately.

"I am not!" Mock offense colored Hermione's tone before she spoiled it with another round of giggles.

"So it wasn't your idea, near the end, to conjure Patronuses, and run them through the walls and everything else 'just in case' we missed something?" Harry teased.

"We had to be sure," Hermione said primly. Slyly, she continued, "After your little trip inside, we couldn't tak-"

Harry suddenly sat up and began to tickle her, evoking shrieks of laughter "No fair, Harry! I'm so much more ticklish than you!"

"I know."

"Nooooo!"

A moment later she conceded. "I give up! I'm sorry, Harry! I take everything back."

Harry looked down at the girl who he was now straddling, suddenly conscious of just how much Hermione's shirt had ridden up, exposing most of her taut, flat stomach to just below her breasts. The hands he placed on her ribcage were no longer interested in tickling her soft exposed skin as he caressed her gently. Hermione's beautiful toffee colored eyes darkened with desire as she looked up at him. "Harry," she breathed.

The snogging session that followed ended up with very little clothing for either and at least a partially satisfied Harry holding the girl he loved. They were moving closer to true intimacy if a bit slower than he would have preferred. It was a journey Harry was enjoying even if sometimes it left him a bit frustrated. Oh well, he thought in amusement, that's what long solo showers and his imagination were for. Harry definitely didn't need one right now, Hermione's hand being more than satisfactory, and he suspected that if she weren't snoozing, she'd give hm the same kudos. His smile faded as more serious thoughts intruded.

The break in last night, and subsequent destruction of all the Muggle electronics had gone flawlessly. Magic had dealt with anything electrical in a truly effective manner. Almost too much so. The damage had been daunting and Harry had wondered aloud about their own future home. Hermione had reassured him that she could ward their home well enough so that regular household spells from either them or the House Elves would have no effect, and that even something like what they'd just done would only do minimal damage. After a moment's thought on the matter, Harry had nodded.

Even with his limited understanding of runes and arithmancy, he understood how that could be possible. After all, he already knew that wards existed that would allow him to practice combat magic as much as he wanted in the dueling area. He'd seen a version of them used all the way back in fourth year during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Additionally, several of the books they possessed outlined theoretical ward schemes. They just needed to do the arithmetic calculations, draw up a runic schematic, then use specialized spells to jump start things. They, meaning of course, mostly Hermione. Although she had already told Harry he would be helping and learning how to do this himself in the future.

Of course, they would never have had to do this raid if Harry hadn't been so careless. For the first time, he was beginning to understand the attitude that Wizards had towards Muggles, that they were superior and that there was nothing Muggles could do about it. Possession of magic bred a type of arrogance that was both subtle and insidious. Until recently, Harry would have thought himself immune, but his confidence in, and dependence upon, magic to deal with any situations they'd stumbled into since arriving in this new world put paid to that conceit.

Worse, Harry examined some of his and Hermione's decisions in the recent past through the lens of his new understanding and they were... troubling, to say the least. His naive belief in Dumbledore, and that magic could somehow save the day against Voldemort, terrified him in hindsight. Sheer dumb luck saved the day that time. And ever since, Harry had had the Hallows whispering in his ear things that his conscious mind could not understand, but that his subconscious showed him in dreams. Frankly, if Harry had to endure even one more dream where a black-eyed version of himself ruled over a dark and devastated world, he was going to give up on sleeping entirely. At least he hadn't had one of _those_ dreams since arriving here on this world with Hermione.

Hermione. Harry glanced at the sleeping figure of his girlfriend next to him. Sadly, she had been no more immune to the effects than he was. Erasing her parents' memories and sending them to Australia might have seemed like a good idea in a children's book, but in the real world there were consequences to actions such as robbing someone of their free will. Consequences such as Hermione losing her parents forever, something that Harry knew had hurt her badly. And while they hadn't spoken of it, he had noticed a certain reluctance on her part to use any magic that affected the mind and will since. She definitely hadn't liked hearing about him using the memory charm on Stanislaw, at least going by her frown at the time. It was also likely the reason that all of the plans she'd made before they'd arrived had involved glamors and misdirection to achieve results rather than memory charms or other mind magics. The furthest foray into magics involving the mind she seemed to tolerate was a Confundus Charm, and even that brought a frown to her face.

So, while Hermione may have learned her lesson, it was one that Harry needed to learn as well. Magic had a place and time, but if he used it for every single thing, he risked taking it, and the harm it could do, for granted. And somewhere, far, far down that path, lay a vision of black eyes and crumbling cities. But forewarned was forearmed. So long as Harry was aware of the consequences of his actions and practiced a modicum of care, he, and the world, should be fine.

Harry dozed off in the arms of his girlfriend, thinking positively about the future and his place in it. As he slipped into blissful unconsciousness, he mentally toasted another successful mission by the new duo of Harry and Hermione.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Nick Fury moodily eyed his phone. While he knew he had to do it, actually making the call stuck in his craw. The last thing they needed was a loose cannon involved in such a delicate situation. Especially, _that _loose cannon. The nutjob who had announced his existence to the entire world at a _press_ conference of all things. Regardless, it had to be done. Punching number three on his speed dial, Nick waited until it was picked up before saying, "Stark? I need a favor..."

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

**AN:** Well, it's too bad that Harry and Hermione's attempt to 'fix' thing went so far astray. Let me know what think about that plot point.

Also, if you spot a typo, please let me know. It won't bother me because typos irritate the crap out of me. I appreciate all feedback, including grammar.

**Next time:** Harry begins to understand just how long the reach of the government is. Hermione has a plan. Oh, and Tony shows up to take a look. See you in a few.


	4. Chapter Four—What To Do?

**Chapter Four—What To Do?**

**AN:** I just wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews. Also, thanks for putting this story on so many Communities, 24 so far. If anyone spots any typos, feel free to mention them in a review or PM. Now for the story.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Harry woke up yawning. Bright sunlight was still coming in through the curtains and he judged it to be around noon. Hermione was lying sprawled across his bed in a tangle of long wavy hair, ivory skin, and wrinkled white sheets. He sat up and casually surveyed the room. While it wasn't as nice as the one in the hotel they'd just left, it had two advantages that endeared it to Harry.

First, they accepted cash, a not inconsiderable issue as they could not be one hundred percent sure the bank cards they'd been issued weren't compromised. More importantly, there was only one bedroom with two beds in it, giving Harry a much needed dose of the girl who was his best friend and quite possibly, the love of his life. Just thinking about her and the way he felt brought a smile to his face. Too bad she was still asleep, he thought ruefully. Harry glanced around looking for something to distract him from thoughts of her.

Then Harry saw the perfect thing. While he was waiting for Hermione to wake up, he was going to watch some telly. Harry quickly figured out the remote control and was able to turn it on. He slowly ran through the channels until something caught his eye. With a quick, concerned glance at the figure next to him, Harry turned up the volume.

_Breaking News!_

_This is Constance DeChance on location with WABC 13 Eyewitness News. WABC was notified of a brewing situation less than an hour ago and rushed to bring this breaking story to you. We are at the site of what is being called a terrorist attack here at Midtown near the corner of 3rd Avenue and East 46th Street. The primary business affected is the Gold Exchange, which a source tell us deals in precious metals. Upon arrival, this reporter noticed several key things. There has been a strong police presence in the surrounding area with a sidewalks and streets blocked off to pedestrian and vehicular traffic for more than one hundred yards. This can be indicative of a bomb alert. Not police, but instead plainclothes agents are conducting the search of the building. It has been suggested that these plainclothes agents seen entering the premises themselves are members of an elite bomb squad which would certainly explain the precautions-_

Harry cut the sound and gave Hermione's foot a squeeze. "Wake up, Hermione. We've got a problem."

Hermione woke up clutching the sheets around her, much to Harry's disappointment. "Wha..." was all she managed as she stared around, still half asleep.

Harry turned up the sound more and she appeared to fully waken rather quickly at the bombardment of sounds and images from the telly. Within minutes she was wearing a long-sleeved nightshirt and pacing between him and the television. Harry, his patience dwindling, asked, "What do you think we should do?"

Hermione waved an arm in his direction. "I don't know! I need to think. Why can't I think?"

Harry stood up and took Hermione's hand, tugging her back towards the bed. With a half hysterical giggle, she said, "I really don't think that will help, Harry."

"Quiet, you," Harry said as he sat down on the bed. Scooting back a little with his legs apart, he patted the bed in front of him. Hermione sat between his legs with a sigh of exasperation, which quickly turned into one of pleasure as Harry began to brush her hair with the enchanted brush he'd bought her.

The slow hypnotic strokes calmed them both down. It was odd, he thought idly, how something as simple as brushing someone's hair could be such a sensuous experience. Hermione's hair had long ago lost that thick bushiness, instead falling in waves of soft, silky curls almost to her waist. Still, it needed a hundred and one strokes from the golden brush daily to keep it that way. The ritual of brushing Hermione's thick, silky hair was a pleasure for them both and it wasn't just the brush that stroked its way through her curls as Harry's fingers occasionally joined in. He could feel the tension drain out of him as he brushed and stroked.

Hermione's breathing had slowed as she, too, relaxed under his ministrations. Harry mentally counted the strokes as he neared the end: Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred, one hundred and one. Setting the brush down, Harry gently brushed the hair back from the slim column of Hermione's neck. He was just about to kiss her there when she suddenly sprang to her feet.

In a decisive tone, Hermione exclaimed, "Okay, I've got a plan. We're going down to the site of the crime under glamors and we're going to scout things. We'll find out what they know and if it's anything significant, we'll plan accordingly."

Harry, his libido only further incensed by a decisive Hermione, bit back a groan of frustration, instead arguing, "And how are we going to get close enough to see anything? The lady on the telly said that they're keeping people hundreds of feet back."

Hermione chewed her lip as she considered this. "I don't know. I didn't consider that."

Harry could barely think as the girl he loved seemed intent on driving him crazy. Somehow, he got out, "Why not instead go in under a Disillusionment Charm? That way we can walk right up to them and listen to their conversations."

Hermione shook her head, her hair swaying with the movement. "Except that it's broad daylight and the Disillusionment Charm produces that heat shimmer effect that would allow them to track us."

Harry grinned. "Well well. You mean I know something that the great Hermione Granger, smartest witch of her generation, does not?"

Hermione gave him a disgruntled look. "If you do, it's something to do with DADA."

Harry nodded, his grin showing no signs of disappearing anytime soon. "How right you are, my dear."

Hermione stamped her foot in annoyance. "Tell me already!"

Harry calculated the odds of getting Hermione to stamp her foot again as he'd rather enjoyed the jiggling effect it had produced. However, looking at her face, he decided that discretion was the better part of valor and said, "Only Magical Beings see the shimmer. As far as Muggles are concerned, it's true invisibility."

The storm on Hermione's face cleared as if by magic, and she squealed, "That's brilliant, Harry! That will work perfectly for us to infiltrate their investigation. Great job."

Harry smiled at her enthusiasm. In a suggestive tone, he casually mentioned, "Something that great probably deserves a reward."

Hermione bit her lip and played with her hair, winding it around one finger, as she considered his idea. "What kind of reward?"

Harry's could feel himself getting aroused as she teased him. "The best kind of reward."

Hermione shook her head in mock sorrow. She started to turn away as she said, "Sorry, Harry, no time for a reward. We have to-"

With lightning fast reflexes, Harry reached up, grabbed Hermione's arm, and pulled her down onto the bed next to him. All she had time for was a breathy, "Oh, Harry..." before his body covered hers.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Miri stood and watched as agents boxed up items that were likely destined for the Sandbox, although all the destination showed was a coded grid number. Others took readings, using several different types of specialty meters, as the various pieces of equipment were carted away, They were taking pretty much everything; hard drives, electric bulbs and wiring, and even the FaraCage that had been less than useless. After a moment, she was joined by her erstwhile partner, Agent Ward, who asked, "They finding anything useful?"

Deciding to err on the side of formal and respectful after his earlier rebuff, Miri said, "No, sir. So far there's been zero signs of any form of radiation or errant energy readings of any kind. At least, not that any of our mobile stuff can pick up. They're packing up a bunch of stuff to take somewhere else where I presume they'll run more tests."

From the expression on Agent Ward's face, he didn't seem too happy with her answer. "I understand. I wonder what they'll be sending off to Stark?" This last wasn't said in a conversational tone, more as if he was asking himself something.

Still, Miri responded as if electrified. "Stark? As in, _Tony_ Stark?"

Agent Ward gave her a look of disillusionment. "Yeah. So?"

Miri lowered her voice, but couldn't restrain her enthusiasm. "So, it's Tony Stark! Genius billionaire inventor? Iron Man? The guy who's richer than God and twice as intelligent."

In a chiding tone, Agent Ward informed her, "The guy who's been on SHIELD's watch list for a while now."

Miri was startled. "I didn't know that. What for?"

He mocked her. "Genius billionaire inventor? Iron Man? Pick your reason. The guy says he out of the arms business, then invents that armor, the best weapon in existence? _And_ keeps it private? It takes a lot of influence within Congress to get away with that one. So, yeah, SHIELD keeps an eye on him."

Miri speculated aloud, "I wonder what video we have of _him?_"

Agent Ward's eyes hardened. "I don't find that appropriate, Agent Campbell." He looked uneasy at having mentioned Stark's status to her, as if she couldn't be trusted to know something sensitive.

Miri could feel herself starting to blush and immediately practiced the meditation techniques taught by the Academy to prevent physiological responses. "I am cleared for that level of information, you know. It's just that I don't usually gossip about stuff at work, even to other coworkers. I just try to... stay focused on my job and not get distracted. Being in the field is different and more than a bit distracting."

Agent Ward nodded, relaxing. "That's a good attitude to have. Compartmentalization exists for a reason, after all. I-"

Just then, Agent Ward leaped to the side so fast he was almost a blur. He lashed out with a swinging kick and then a spinning backhand, before pausing, becoming as still as a statue. Miri was beginning to wonder if Agent Ward had just lost it, when he turned back towards her and relaxed, tension visibly running out of his body. Still, she kept her hand near her sidearm, just in case. Agent Ward stood there a moment, then shook his head, murmuring, "I could have sworn..."

Cautiously, Miri asked, "Is everything okay, Agent Ward?"

Agent Ward met her eyes levelly, as for the first time, a faint humor suffused his own. "Stand down, Agent Campbell. There was nothing there. I guess I'm just jumpy. Teleporters and doomsday devices, oh my." This last was delivered in an utterly deadpan voice.

Miri nodded shakily. She felt the same. Still, she wouldn't have expected an agent of Ward's experience to jump at shadows. Miri guessed it was just a result of the importance of the case they were working.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Harry slowly moved a few more feet away, breathing hard. That had been close. Not for the first time, he thanked fate for giving him a Seeker's reflexes. When the man had jumped right at him, Harry had spun just out of his way, then ducked flat to the ground to avoid a kick and a punch that would have taken his head off. Scuttling away on all fours as fast as he safely could, Harry hadn't risen to his feet until the other had stopped moving for some time.

Harry was fortunate that the man hadn't tagged him or even brushed against the material of his clothing. Either would have given away his presence. The presence of someone invisible. As paranoid as these people already appeared to be, the last thing he wanted to do was to add to it. They'd probably start shooting at shadows and might even clip him or Hermione by accident.

Before his little incident, Harry _had_ discovered some information. This entire operation was being run by something called SHIELD, which almost had to be an acronym of one kind or another. It appeared to be a secret agency of some kind, like MI-6. Regardless, Harry didn't have the slightest idea of what it stood for or what the people working there did other than investigate unknown events. He did know they were hauling various items off to be tested at someplace called the Sandbox as well as by a Tony Stark, likely the same person Harry had read about in the paper, who liked to fly around wearing a metal suit.

Harry hung around another forty-five minutes, but didn't learn anything really new. Since it was getting close to the deadline he and Hermione had set, he decided to apparate back to their hotel room. There he waited with increasing impatience for her to return. It appeared that she was running late. He started imagining all kinds of horrifying scenarios from Hermione being caught by the Kicking Man to her splinching herself after apparating. When it was more than ten minutes beyond their scheduled meet time, Harry started getting ready to go back and look for her. That was when he head the faint crack of someone apparating and he knew Hermione was back.

Harry waited a moment, then sighed in heartfelt relief as Hermione appeared, glamor of a middle-aged muggle women firmly in place. Then she caste a wordless Finite to appear as herself. She started to speak, then ruefully shook her head and cast another wordless Finite to end the Silence Spell on herself. Finally, able to speak, she began to babble.

"It was utterly fascinating what they were doing, Harry. The equipment they were using was advanced beyond anything I've seen before. I-"

Harry chuckled. "Breath, Hermione. Did you find out anything relevant?"

Hermione playfully glared at him a moment, then shrugged. "You first. I know you were listening in on the bigwigs of the operation."

Harry temporized, "I wouldn't say that. But I did find out who's doing the investigation. It's some organization called SHIELD. I don't know-"

Hermione interrupted him. "It stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."

Harry's eyebrows rose as he wondered how she knew that. "Well, that's probably why they call it SHIELD. What a mouthful. Anyway, they were gathering samples of everything present to send to some secret lab called the Sandbox. Also, they mentioned sending things to Tony Stark."

Hermione looked puzzled. "Who?"

Harry patiently explained, "The guy who I told you about who flies around wearing metal armor."

Hermione gave him a look of amusement. "Harry, I told you that you can't believe what you read in a tabloid. It's-"

Harry pounced. "Ha! I'll have you know that the two agents I was listening to were talking about him being Iron Man. So, I think he must be real. Anyway, that pretty much all I got, other than names: Agents Ward and Campbell. Oh, and Agent Ward is as paranoid and jumpy as Mad-Eye Moody. He nearly took my head off when he even thought there might be someone there."

Hermione looked worried. "Harry, he sensed you?"

Harry shook his head. "Not really. More like he's a paranoid bloke and was just making sure. From what he said, he was jumping at shadows. I wouldn't worry."

Hermione nodded in relief. "That's good because we have plenty to worry about. The reason that SHIELD was there is because they were monitoring the Gold Exchange. It seems that they were a front for illegal financial transactions that had been traced to several terrorist organizations. After this 'nine eleven,' they started watching any businesses that moved cash or liquid assets. Random spot check on the Gold Exchange caught them doing business with several suspicious individuals, which got them on the surveillance list."

"You found out all of that from listening in on them?" At Hermione's slightly guilty look, Harry sighed. "Hermione, what did you do?"

"I might have seen a stack of file folders labeled 'TOP SECRET.' I also might have opened the top one and read the first few pages." Hermione's shifty look probably meant she'd read more than a 'few' pages.

Harry rolled his eyes. He made a sweeping gesture towards Hermione and intoned, "And let that forever answer why you were sorted into Gryffindor."

Hermione grinned fiercely back. "And don't you forget it. But that's not all I learned, Harry. They had a few frames of video of someone wrecking the equipment with a bunch of lights going off. They didn't see who and they don't know how, but it's got them very worried. They think it was an EMP-"

Harry was puzzled. He hadn't heard that term before. "A what?"

Hermione explained, "An EMP: electromagnetic pulse. Like magic, it damages electronics, overloading circuits and the like. However, the back up hard drives were in a Faraday cage, which is supposed to protect from EMP, but didn't work so well against magic. From what I heard, I think that they think that it was a new kind of EMP, which can't be shielded against."

Harry considered what Hermione had said. "It makes sense that they'd be worried about something like that. It does sound scary. I mean, imagine airplanes falling out of the sky. Or everything in a building like one we were in suddenly not working. Which reminds me. I guess the video recording equipment was off somewhere else which is why they caught us on tape?"

Hermione nodded, then stopped as if struck. At Harry's questioning look, she said, "One of the techs said something about teleporters. I didn't know what he meant at the time, but what if they were talking about us? Harry, they must have seen us apparate in! I can't believe I didn't think about that when I saw the video frames! They're going to be twice as worried now!"

Harry nodded decisively. "Right. I am going to destroy the cards immediately. We don't need the money and who knows to what lengths they'll go to track me down. Better to be safe than sorry."

Hermione sighed in obvious relief. "That's good. I was going to suggest that anyway after getting such a concentrated dose of Big Brother this afternoon." Then she looked strickened. "What about Mr Neil? We can't go back and buy the bookstore now."

Harry knew Hermione wasn't going to like his suggestion even as he made it. "I'll use a Memory Charm on him. I'll give him a memory of meeting a different looking Harry Potter."

It was a measure of how worried Hermione was that she only frowned before nodding. "Fine, but no more Memory Charms after that if we can help it. What about your last name? Did you give it at the Gold Exchange? Or anywhere else?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I was at least that security conscious. If I use a subtle glamor that only changes a little of my facial appearance, just enough to make me look like a different person, that should be enough. Besides, that way it'll be less of a drain on my magic."

Hermione gave him a wide-eyed look. "Do you think you're going to need to keep a glamor up for the foreseeable future?"

"I don't know. But as you say, better safe than sorry." it would bloody bite, but the last thing Harry was going to risk was Hermione's safety.

Hermione looked thoughtful. "You know, I can probably make you a necklace or bracelet that will maintain the glamor for you."

Harry smiled in relief. "Seriously? That would be great. Is something like that hard to make?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know for sure. In all my reading, I don't remember coming across anything exactly like it. But theoretically, it shouldn't be too hard. It's a single use spell, after all. Certainly no harder than that beaded bag I made in sixth year. Besides the Undetectable Extension Charm, I had to use a ton of different runes to anchor the spell and organize the interior. It was actually an interesting bit of arithmancy when I calculated the placement of all of the various runes for lightness, dur-"

Harry held up a hand, halting Hermione. Weakly, he said, "I believe you." More cockily, he continued, "Just don't forget what I look like when you're around this other bloke called Harry Potter."

Hermione looked like she wasn't too happy to have been interrupted when waxing on about one of her favorite subjects. In retaliation, she teased, "We'll have to see about that. Since I'm making the charm, I get to pick what you look like. Now, should I make you look like Bill Weasley or Gilderoy Lockhart?" Hermione giggled with abandonment at Harry's look of horror.

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Tony Stark slid out from behind the wheel of his Nissan GTR Black Edition, marveling at the car he'd just picked up to 'give a spin' to. While he wasn't one hundred percent sure he liked it better than the Audi R8 he often drove, it did have more acceleration. What it lacked was the sheer luxury of the Audi, but that had become increasing less important to him as time wore on.

Instead, Tony Stark was becoming more and more of an adrenaline junkie. It was something he could admit to himself, even if he wouldn't have told either Pepper or Rhodey in a million years. And unfortunately, after being Iron Man, and doing the things he could wearing the suit, neither car could manage that visceral sense of excitement, of living on the edge, that the armor could. Still, Tony thought he would go ahead and pick one up to add to his permanent collection as it was a fun drive, hitting a hundred miles per hour in only six point eight seconds, over half a second faster than the Audi.

He also liked that it looked exactly like what it was, a brute of a machine built for speed. After all of the times recently that Tony had felt like he was hiding himself, it was refreshing to drive something as frank and unpretentious as the Nissan. Much like his armor, which he built to be the most powerful and sophisticated weapons system on the planet. Certainly, when he was wearing it, Tony could definitely be himself, warts and all.

With a start, he realized that he was still standing there while a valet stood patiently waiting on him. With a wry grin, Tony tossed the awestruck young man the keys. "Keep it under a hundred when you're parking it," he quipped as he walked off, enjoying the brief look of shock on the kid's face. Was he ever that young, Tony wondered? Or had he been born old and set in his ways? Well, being with Pepper had certainly taught this old dog some new tricks, he thought in amusement.

It was something to ponder, Tony thought, as he caught the elevator for the twenty-second floor, the highest point so far completed on Stark Tower. Anticipation built within him as he wondered what Pepper was going to say when she saw him. Probably something to the effect that he'd better have the work she'd asked him to do done or else. Frivolously, he wondered if she would draw a finger across her throat for emphasis, but decided she was much to uptight to do so. Speaking aloud, he said, "Jarvis, make a note to get Pepper tipsy tonight and try to get her to do something spontaneous and if at all possible, at least a little embarrassing."

His AI answered in his cultured voice, "Are you sure, sir? I could point out that there is a seventy-four point one percent probability of this not ending well."

Tony made a Mr Burns' gesture as he said, "Excellent. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Whatever scenarios you're using to calculate for those results, suggest one or more of those later."

If an AI could be piqued, Jarvis sounded exactly that as he intoned, "Very well, sir."

When the elevator doors opened, Tony sneaked out, holding his finger to his lips as several different people started to say his name. He spotted Pepper across the large open space that would eventually be sectioned off for lab or office space, depending upon the need, and walked over, making sure to stay directly behind her. He gave a warning look to Mark Seros, the project manager who was facing him, while Pepper was bent over the blueprints, looking closely at some detail.

As Pepper stood up, Tony slid his hands across her eyes and intoned, "Guess who?"

In an exasperated voice, Pepper replied, "It had better not be my playboy boss slash boyfriend, because if he were to show up without the plans I asked for that are due the day after tomorrow, I couldn't be held responsible by any court of law." With that, she whirled around and gave him a surprisingly chaste kiss considering they hadn't seen each other in four days.

Then again, Tony thought, it wasn't that surprising considering the audience they had. Deciding to showboat a little to take the attention off of them as a couple, Tony feigned confusion. "Plans? What plans would those be? Oh, wait, I have it. Here you go, Miss Potts." Tony handed Pepper the briefcase containing his Iron Man armor. Then he took it back. "Wait, that not it. Let me see... ah hah! There you are, complete plans as requested, for the Arc Reactor, and for the Stark Tower through floor forty-five." Tony set two folders with the requested materials within them into Pepper's waiting arms. "But wait! There's more." Tony rummaged around in his other case for a moment. "Ahh... what do we have here? It's the remaining plans for all the rest of the floors of Stark Tower, complete with wiring diagrams and initial lab equipment orders. How do you like that?"

Pepper's expression had run the gamut from exasperation, to annoyance, to confusion, before finally settling on a simple smile of joy. "Tony, I don't know what to say..."

Tony smirked. "Well, wonderful, jawdropping, awesome, amazing, and stupendous are just a few of the adjectives that come to my mind when I think about myself." He waggled his brows at Pepper, still conscious of her smile and the feelings it engendered within him.

Pepper leaned forward and Tony braced for a kiss. Instead, she softly asked, "Jarvis, thanks for doing the lion's share of the work on this."

Tony stared at Pepper in bemused chagrin as the dry voice of his AI said, "It was my pleasure, Miss Potts. I have spent the majority of my processor cycles on this project ever since you left."

Pepper gave an impish smile as she said, "I can tell. The entire building? You shouldn't have."

Tony had had enough. "Now wait a minute. What about my processor cycles? I've gone without food and sleep in order to get these plans for you."

"So your usual modus operandi when I'm not there to hold your hand and to remind you to sleep and eat?" Pepper asked in her usual arch tone, belied by the soft look in her eyes.

Tony bridged the gap between them, aware that everyone had finally cleared out to allow them privacy. Sometimes it was good to be the boss. He slowly moved to kiss Pepper, then stopped, pulling back until his mouth was an inch from hers. "That just goes to show you how much I need you."

There was a look of vulnerability in her eyes as Pepper asked, "You need me?"

With complete sincerity this time, Tony agreed, "I need you." He searched her eyes. "Now it's your turn."

"My turn?" Pepper questioned as she glanced surreptitiously around.

"Yes. I just told you I need you. Now you tell me you need me."

Pepper smirked as she stepped back, crossing her arms. "I'm a modern woman, Tony Stark. We don't need mmmpph!"

Tony kissed Pepper like he'd wanted to do from the first moment he'd seen her standing there studying the plans, with her oh so proper business suit and perfectly coiffed chignon. Now he ran fingers through that selfsame hair, mussing it, as he cupped the back of her head, increasing the depth and passion of the kiss. Meanwhile, her arms, which had instinctively raised to push him back now twined around his neck. Cupping the taut curves of Pepper's bottom in his other hand, Tony ground himself against her. Pepper's body felt boneless as she molded herself against him.

Tony lost track of time, but he doubted more than ten minutes had passed before he finally released Pepper from his kiss, although his hands loosely clasped around her waist still kept her captive. He murmured in her ear, "Now what were we discussing?"

Pepper eyes went from dazed to amused in an instant. With a faux huff of exasperation, Pepper admitted, "Fine. I need you, Tony Stark."

Tony gave her a winsome smile in return. "See how much better it works out when we're honest with each other?"

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

Barnaby eyed Hermione Granger's phone number as he psyched himself up for the call. Ever since talking to his brother-in-law out in Phoenix, he'd been considering if he dared to go this route. It had been the sight of the gold bar that had done it. That had gotten him to thinking about just how much money he could save on taxes if he could persuade Miss Granger to pay in cash, or better yet, gold bullion.

The easy way her companion, whose name Barnaby was embarrassed to have forgotten, but blamed on a shiny distraction, had produced that bar of gold, couldn't help but make a man think. About saving a ridiculous amount of money in taxes from the federal government, the state of New York, and New York City. All told, he could save almost a million in taxes if he played it right.

Still, it was the wrong thing to do and risky. This wasn't some waitress failing to report the full amount of her tips. Instead, Barnaby would be reporting only three million of the real sale price of five. And there was no certainty that Miss Granger would agree. However, no one loved the federal government, and both of them being from England should only help as the tax authority there was so voracious as to make New York's seem positively cuddlesome.

Oh well, no time like the present to find out. Dialing her number, Barnaby waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Miss Granger? Barnaby Neil here. I have a proposition for you..."

/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\Travelers/\

**Next time:** Harry and Hermione continue to dodge SHIELD. Tony examines something other than Pepper.


End file.
